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So, I have this great new Thing I Love, that didn’t make Volume II, because I bought it 2 days after I posted that blog. I didn’t want to hold out until Volume II for this Thing, so lucky you–An Addendum!! This Thing has a story that goes along with it too, so it works out well that it is getting its own post.

Let me set the stage: our bedroom is relatively small. We only have one nightstand, which means one alarm clock. That alarm clock used to be on my side of the bed until Little Man was born. I switched sides with the hubbs so I had a straight shot to his bedroom in the middle of the night (believe me, those few extra steps are so worth it). This means I can no longer see the clock. Our bed is high, so the clock is actually below the hubbs on the other side. For me to see it, I have to sit all the way up and lean over in bed.

Without going into the minutiae of our nighttime routine, at this point I know that, for the most part, if Carson wakes up within an hour after his last feeding, I can usually give him 5-10 minutes and he will fall back to sleep. The problem with this? First, I don’t know what time it is to tell if I need to get up with him or not. Second, in my fuzzy half-sleep, I have no idea if it has been 5 minutes or 5 hours. And if I am going to sit all the way up in bed and lean over, I might as well just get out of bed anyways.

The solution? Ask the hubbs what time it is. Obviously. It seems so simple. Here is a sampling of some of the answers I have gotten when I have, in the middle of the night, asked him, “What time is it?”:

“10:47.” This would have been a good answer, if I hadn’t already woken up at midnight, making 10:47 a virtual impossibility, especially considering it was still dark out.

“A little bit of snow.” I couldn’t make this up. When I say again, very deliberate in an attempt to wake up my obviously still sleeping husband, “What. Time. Is. It?”, I get in response, “A. Little. Bit. Of. Snow.” What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Besides getting pissed that the hubbs is obviously not even hearing his own son and can’t wake up enough to tell ME, the one getting up, what time it is, I can sit all the way up and lean over and check for myself.

Enter the Emerson Dual Alarm Clock with Smart Set. I haven’t had a new alarm clock since high school, and let me tell you–things have really improved in the last 15 years! First of all–you just plug this clock in and it sets itself: date, time, day of the week. You’d think with today’s technology, I wouldn’t be so amazed by this, but I am. It has two alarms, which you can set for 7 days, weekdays, or weekends only. It is a clock radio, which is great, because I have never been one to respond to incessant bleating in my ear. For those that do prefer that, this clock is nice because it starts out soft and slowly increases the volume, so as to not cause you some kind of heart palpitation in the middle of your deep sleep. And lastly, the most important feature?? It projects the time on your ceiling! Aaaahhhhhhhhh!!! In the words of the Guinness guys, “BRILLIANT!!”

All I had to do last night was open my eyes, and there, across my ceiling, was the glorious time!! You can choose what color you would like your time projected in, which is good because the red kind of makes me think of evil and that may affect the few short dreams I have. Instead, I have chosen to go with the calming blue, but if you would prefer, you could also choose green. There is a focusing option, so you don’t have to look at your clock all fuzzy on your ceiling when you are already fuzzy yourself. The only down-side to this clock is that the projection isn’t only the digits, there is also a box of light around the digits. It does illuminate the room some, and the farther away from the clock you project the time (the projector has a little moving arm so you can adjust where you project your time), the bigger and brighter the box. I have decided the illumination is totally worth not waking up at “A. Little. Bit. Of. Snow.”

As Carson gets up there in months (five months totally qualifies us as “pro’s”!!), we use more/different things, which allows me to continually offer up more “Things I Love”. So, here you have another list of unsolicited recommendations.

I love Nosefrida the Snotsucker. Love, love, LOVE it. I think any mom with a kid who cannot blow his (or her) nose NEEDS Nosefrida. Yes, it seems gross…but really, it’s not. And it WORKS. I mean, legitimately works. You put the collection tube up to your kid’s nostril and suck. When you are done, the collection tube comes right off, easy to clean (as opposed to that nasty bulb…ugh!). While I am dreading Carson’s first illness, I am looking forward to using Nosefrida to its full sucking capacity.

Nosefrida the Snotsucker

I love jewelry that functions as a teething toy! Check out Teething Bling–someone was smart when they thought of affordable jewelry that is kid friendly! I have gotten tons of compliments on these necklaces (I have 2, but want more!). I would wear them without a mouthy little boy, but the fact that they are safe for Little Man to munch on make them even better. I would not recommend the bangles, especially if you are small boned, like me. They are big and cumbersome and I just don’t like how they look. I have seen other sterling silver teething necklaces, but really–I don’t have $220 to drop on them, even though I would LOVE one. I have also found these necklaces but I have not seen them or used them myself, so I can’t tell you if they are any good.

Teething Bling!

I love Sophie! All the cool kids have Sophie. Little Man is so cool, he has two!! I didn’t really understand the appeal of Sophie until this past month when Carson started mouthing everything in sight. He LOVES Sophie. Sophie is his tried and true travel companion and he really enjoys having his way with her in his car seat for any drives. Also, the company (Vulli) is awesome. When I sent them an email about Sophie’s paint coming off right away (it is food based, so it is OK), they sent me another Sophie for free within days for “mum’s peace of mind”. Love it!!

Like this:

I have found quite a few MomBloggers out there who actually get free stuff from companies to try and review. I really would love to get stuff for free and review it…but I am not big time enough for that. So, in the meantime, I am going to give you my unsolicited reviews for the Things I Love.

I love this baby carrier. The Ergo is well worth the money and I feel if you are going to spend money on a carrier, you should go with this one. It is SO comfy, SO easy to use, and as a PT, I will tell you it is easy on your body. The load is transferred through your hips, leaving you with little to no upper back pain that you can get from other carriers. LOVE IT!

Carson in the Ergo, ready for a walk!

I love this lotion. Carson has what I affectionately refer to as “sandpaper forehead”. I don’t know if it is some extension of cradle crap (no, that is not a typo), just dry skin, eczema, or what–but California Baby Calendula Cream pretty much helped it after the first use. I have actually been using it on the cradle crap, too! Plus, can we talk about the smell?? So nice. It is a small container, but a little goes a long way. And they sell this at Target. I haven’t used any other Cal Baby products yet, but I am looking forward to trying more of their line.

I love this diaper cream. If Carson has the slightest hint of a rash, I slather some of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste on and its magical properties practically ensure the rash is gone by the next diaper change. It doesn’t have that medicinal smell like some of the other creams do, either. I like the big tub the best, it’s easier to apply when you don’t have to squeeze it out of the tube first. I have actually been using a thin layer at bedtime because I am too lazy to change his diaper in the middle of the night and it provides a good barrier to his pee-filled dipe.

I love this glider and this ottoman. I know, some of you may choke on your tongue at the price but if you plan accordingly, you can get it on sale, like I did. If you go after your shower, you can probably get it at no cost to you with your returns/gift cards. I’m telling you this is one area where you do not want to skimp. I spend a lot of time in this bad-boy. This is like the Cadillac of gliders. Oh, and did I mention it reclines too? Yeah, in the middle of the night I am congratulating myself for getting over the price tag and splurging on it!

I love this stain remover. OxiClean Baby has saved many a onesie from up-the-back poop blowouts. In fact, I have only thrown out one onesie so far…and that was because it contained as much poop as a diaper on its own, not because OxiClean couldn’t save it. It always amazes me when I come back to the soaking onesie to find it stain free.

Lastly, I LOVE this…

I L.O.V.E. this man!

…although I don’t know where you could find another, he’s one of a kind!!